Old FAQ posts

[chaley]

Yes, as long as you are using calibre 1.28 or later. CC's Read information can be synchronized with a calibre Yes/No custom column, and CC's Date Read information can be synchronized with a calibre Date custom column. Syncing happens when you connect to calibre as a wireless device.

You set this up using the following steps:

1. Create the Yes/No column in calibre. To do this, in calibre click on "Preferences" then "Add your own columns". Click the green Plus to add a new column. Click the "Yes/No" link under Quick Create. Fill out the fields as shown in this screen capture:
   
   You can choose whatever lookup name and column heading you want.
   
   Make a note of the lookup name. You will need it in a later step.
2. Create the Date column in calibre. You do this in a way similar to that used when creating the Yes/No column. After clicking on the green Plus, set the column type to Date. Enter the text for the lookup name and column heading. As before, you can use choose different values for these two values.
   
   Again, make a note of the lookup name.
3. Enter the column lookup names in CC's settings
   In CC, ensure you are not connected then go to Settings and scroll down until you find the "Marking Books Read" options.
   
   Tap "Column for Marked Read". A dialog box will open where you choose the calibre Read Yes/No custom column.
   
   Choose the correct column and press OK.
   
   Do the same thing for the Column for Date Read, entering the lookup name for the calibre Date custom column.

[chaley]

If the library from which the book is being downloaded contains a Yes/No custom column with the lookup name entered into CC, then that Read information will be copied to CC. The same is true for the date read column.

[chaley]

Auto-sort is a CC feature adding in CC version 3.4.1 that lets you automatically sort the book list when you select a group in the grouping drawer. For example, you could tell CC to automatically sort by series whenever the series group is selected.

You set up auto-sorts in CC's settings. Go to Settings / Sorting / Auto-sort when choosing a group.

[chaley]

CC now allows you to define a complex sort available in one tap on the sort menu. By "complex" we mean a sort that can specify up to 3 sub-sorts. For example, you might want to sort the book list so that books in a series are shown in series order while books not in a series are shown in author/title order. To do this you would set up a user defined sort with the following subsorts:

• Major (first): series. This will sort by series and series index.
• Second: author. Books with no series (or with identical series/series index) will be sorted by author.
• Third: title. Books with identical authors will be sorted by title.

You define a user-defined sort in CC's settings.

You can use a user-defined sort as an auto-sort.

[chaley]

Yes. Go to Settings / Sorting and tap on Select sorts to show in menu.

[chaley]

Yes. Go to Settings / Grouping Drawer / Select groups to show.

[chaley]

Yes. Go to Settings, scroll down to near the bottom to Backup and Restore CC Settings, then tap Backup CC settings. A dialog will open where you choose where to save the backup.

Note that CC will not allow you to save a backup on an SD card. Because of the Android 4.4 changes there are too many complexities. If you can write to your SD card, save the backup in main memory then use a file manager to move it to the SD card.

[chaley]

You can now choose which fields (calibre columns) to show and the order in which they appear. To do this, tap on a book to see its details, then tap on the menu button (normally 3 dots) and select Choose items to display. A dialog will open showing you all the fields in that book. Uncheck the fields you don't want to see, and use the up/down arrows to reorder the fields that you do want to see.

Tips:

• a long-press on an arrow will move that item 5 rows.
• Scrolling to the bottom of the list will show a Reset button. Tapping this button will restore the list to its default order with all items checked.

[chaley]

Wireless isolation and guest mode are two different techniques for securing a wireless network. Although the details are different, they both prevent wireless devices from connecting to computers connected by a wire, and in many cases prevent wireless devices from connecting to another wireless device.

If wireless isolation is enabled then wireless devices will be able to connect only to the internet. They will not be able to connect to other wireless devices or to wired devices. This increases the security of your network by preventing anyone who "eavesdrops" on your network from getting into other computers. As a consequence, CC will be unable to connect to calibre.

If guest networking is enabled then wireless devices connected to the guest network will be prevented from connecting to computers on the non-guest network(s). In some routers, the guest network also contains wireless isolation, in that wireless devices cannot see each other even if both are on the guest network. The cabled networks are almost always considered non-guest. Using guest networking makes it easier to allow friends to access your network without giving them the keys to the city, but CC on a device connected to a guest network will not be able to connect to calibre.

To make life more interesting, some routers isolate the wireless bands from each other. If this feature is turned on then devices on the 5ghz band will not be able to connect to devices on the 2.4ghz band. Generally both bands can connect to wired networks unless either wireless isolation or guest mode is turned on.

[chaley]

The content server is what is called a "pull" connection, which means you use your device to pull books from the server onto your device. Using the content server you can browse the books in your library from your device. CC puts a green check mark next to the book if it is already on your device. The wireless device is a "push" connection, which means that you use calibre (and talk to calibre) to push (send) books from your laptop to CC. There is no way on CC to ask calibre to send a book when wireless device connected.

When to use one or the other depends on what you are trying to do. The content server connection is often better for small operations such grabbing a book or a series. If your content server is set up appropriately then you can use it from anywhere in the world (the setup requires technical networking knowledge).

The wireless device connection is better for larger operations such as sending many books selected in calibre using a search. It is also the way to update the metadata for all the books on the device, something you should do if you change things in calibre such as covers, tags, comments, etc. Finally, it is the way that read information is (optionally) synced back to calibre.

[chaley]

CC can sort on a custom column that is marked as being in the grouping drawer, so the first step is to follow the instructions in the FAQ How do I add my custom columns to the Grouping drawer. The column will be automatically added to the sort menu.

If you do not want to see the column in the grouping drawer, go to Settings / Grouping Drawer / Select groups to show and uncheck the group(s) you do not want to see.

[chaley]

These instructions are valid for CC V3.6.2 and later.

Some people wish to give a device to their children to encourage reading etc. However, many people don't want the child to have all of Android available, and in particular don't want the child to have internet access. Android restricted accounts take care of much of this, but a problem can arise because CC needs internet access to check its license.

To get around this problem CC supports checking the license in the "Admin" (master) account and informing the restricted accounts that the license is valid. To set this up, do the following:

1. As admin, connect CC to calibre as a wireless device then wait one hour. This wait allows the license servers to stabilize. You don't need to transfer any books. If you have previously connected this device to calibre as a wireless device more than an hour ago then you can skip this step.
2. After the wait and as admin, connect again to calibre as a wireless device. You don't need to transfer any books.
3. You can save a bit of time in a later step by ensuring that CC's settings for admin are the same as you want them to be for the sub-accounts.
4. As admin, back up CC's settings. In CC's settings, scroll to near the bottom and choose "Backup Settings". Be sure to put the file somewhere you can find it. Before you do this step see the next section, as one of the options influences where the file should go.
5. The backup file needs to be copied to each child's profile. There are several ways to do this.
   • (Something that seems to work in Android 4 but but not in Android 5) Put the file in the device folder Android/obb. The contents of this folder seem to be visible to admin and all the sub accounts. You can avoid using a file manager app by directly storing the file in this folder in CC's backup process.
   • Email the file to an address the child's profile can read.
   • Use Goggle Drive or Dropbox to copy the file.
   • Connect the device to a computer using a cable and copy the file from the device to the computer. Disconnect the device, change to the child's profile, reconnect the device, then copy the file from the computer to the device.
6. Switch to the child's profile.
7. As the child, in CC restore the settings file. Depending on which choice you made in step 6 you might need to obtain the file first. IMPORTANT: uncheck the "Restore storage folder locations" when you do the restore.
8. As the child, connect CC to calibre as a wireless device. It should connect. If you get a license error then probably you didn't wait long enough in step 1.
9. Ensure that CC's settings are as you want for the child.
10. If several children share the device, repeat steps 7 through 11 for the other profile.

Note: you cannot use this method to copy a license between devices.

[chaley]

CC needs the following permissions to be able to do its job:

• ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE: allows CC to determine whether or not networking is enabled
• ACCESS_WIFI_STATE: allows CC to determine whether WiFi is on or off
• CHANGE_WIFI_STATE: allows CC to turn on WiFi if the user requests it
• CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE: allows CC to receive special network packets sent by calibre to provide its IP address and port
• CHECK_LICENSE: allows CC to check that it is correctly licensed. Google Play version only
• INSTALL_SHORTCUT: allows CC to install shortcuts on the home screen. Google Play version only
• INTERNET: allows CC to connect to calibre over the network
• RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED: informs CC that the device has been booted so CC can set the user-defined auto-connect alarm
• SET_ALARM: allows CC to set a user-defined auto-connect alarm
• WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: required on some versions of Android to be able to write information to internal storage and any SD card

[chaley]

CC V3.6.4 added home screen widgets and shortcuts.

The home screen widgets show the last few books that you have read by using CC's launch reader app function: long press on a book or the "Read" action in Book Details. They are automatically updated every time you read a book from CC. If there are no books in your library or if you have never launched a reader app, the widgets will show placeholders such as an empty bookshelf or 'Droid browing books.

There are four widgets:

• A cover list: this widget shows a vertically scrolling list of covers of the last books you have read, with the latest at the top.
• A stack view: this shows the covers of the last books you have read in a stack. Flicking down will reveal the next-oldest cover. Flicking up reveals the next-previous cover.
• A booklist view: this is a scrollable list similar to CC's booklist, showing a thumbnail of the cover, the title, the authors, and the series if there is one.
• A single-row grid: This shows the last 4 read books from left to right. It cannot be scrolled.

It is possible that you "accidentally" read a book and it now appears in the widgets when you don't want it to. You can remove a book from the widgets in Book details. Click on the menu icon (the 3 dots) and choose "Remove from home screen widgets." Nothing bad will happen if you remove a book from the widgets that isn't there.

Home screen shortcuts, created in Book Details, will launch a reader on the book that the shortcut represents. There is no notion of "last read"; a shortcut can be created for a book that has never been read. One could use this feature to make shortcuts for reference books, books you intend to read, or books you are currently reading. Once created, a shortcut will remain on the home screen until you delete it.

[chaley]

Yes, as of CC V3.6.4.

Go to Settings / Wireless Device Connection. Tap Allow automatic connection to "check" the box. A dialog will open asking you for the time of day you wish CC to connect. Once you exit settings, CC will attempt to connect to calibre as a wireless device every day at that time. When it connects, CC will go through a full exchange, updating book metadata in CC, downloading any news articles that are waiting, and "conversing" with the Reading List plugin to see if books need to be downloaded.

There are several reasons that auto-connections might fail.

• Calibre isn't running.
• More than one instance of calibre is running on your network. CC doesn't know which one to connect to and cannot ask you.
• Another device is already connected to calibre.

CC keeps a log of what happens during an auto-connect. You can see this log by going to Settings / Wireless Device Connection and tapping View automatic connection log. There is more detailed information available in CC's debug log.